Antibacterial Potential of Sauropus androgynus (L.) Merr Methanolic Extract Against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Abstract
Background: Contamination of food by pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes significant food poisoning globally. The use of natural preservatives serves as an alternative to synthetic preservatives. Phytochemical compounds with antibacterial activity hold great potential for the development of natural food preservatives. Purpose: This study aimed to identify the phytochemical constituents and evaluate the antibacterial potential of fresh Katuk (Sauropus androgynus (L.) Merr) leaf methanolic extract against both bacteria. Method: The extract was obtained via maceration, followed by phytochemical screening and antibacterial activity assays using the agar well diffusion method at extract concentrations of 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% (w/w), with chloramphenicol 0.1% as the positive control and distilled water as the negative control. Data were statistically analyzed using One-Way ANOVA followed by Tukey's Post-hoc HSD test (p = 0.05). Result: The phytochemical screening results showed that the extract contained all tested compound groups. The antibacterial test against E. coli demonstrated significant activity starting from 60% (inhibition zone diameter of 10,70 ± 0,31 mm) to 80% (10,93 ± 0,35 mm) with no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05). Conversely, inhibition against P. aeruginosa was only observed at the highest concentration of 80% with an average diameter of 10,28 ± 0,23 mm. The extract concentration had a significant effect on the inhibition zone diameter (p < 0.0001). It can be concluded that the presence of flavonoids, tannins, and phenolics contributed to the antibacterial activity of the fresh Katuk leaf extract, highlighting its potential to be developed as a natural antibiotic and food preservative.
References
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D’Souza, J. N., Nagaraja, G. K., Prabhu, A., Navada, K. M., Kouser, S., & Manasa, D. J. (2021). Sauropus androgynus (L.) leaf phytochemical activated biocompatible zinc oxide nanoparticles: An antineoplastic agent against human triple negative breast cancer and a potent nanocatalyst for dye degradation. Applied Surface Science, 552(October 2020), 149429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2021.149429
Dembińska, K., Shinde, A. H., Pejchalová, M., Richert, A., & Swiontek Brzezinska, M. (2025). The Application of Natural Phenolic Substances as Antimicrobial Agents in Agriculture and Food Industry. Foods, 14(11), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14111893
Hossain, M. L., Lim, L. Y., Hammer, K., Hettiarachchi, D., & Locher, C. (2022). A Review of Commonly Used Methodologies for Assessing the Antibacterial Activity of Honey and Honey Products. Antibiotics, 11(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11070975
Huang, J., Zaynab, M., Sharif, Y., Khan, J., Al-Yahyai, R., Sadder, M., Ali, M., Alarab, S. R., & Li, S. (2024). Tannins as antimicrobial agents: Understanding toxic effects on pathogens. Toxicon, 247(May), 107812. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2024.107812
Japar, H. H., Ode, L., Andi, M., & Trisnaputri, D. R. (2022). Uji Aktivitas Antifungi Ekstrak Etanol Daun Katuk ( Sauropus Androgynus . L ) Terhadap Candida Albicans Anti-Fungal Activity of Ethanol Extract Of Katuk ( Sauropus Androgynus L .) Leaves Against Candida Albicans. 1(3).
Khairunnisa, R. D., Sunarni, T., & Saptarini, O. (2024). Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activity of Katuk Leaf Fraction (Sauropus androgynus (L.) Merr.) against Bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus ATCC 25923. Formosa Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 3(9), 3447–3466. https://doi.org/10.55927/fjmr.v3i9.11237
Kuttinath, S., KH, H., & Rammohan, R. (2019). Phytochemical Screening, Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, and Antibiofilm Activity of Sauropus Androgynus Leaf Extracts. Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research, 12(4), 244–250. https://doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2019.v12i4.31756
Laveena, K. B., & Chandra, M. (2018). Evaluation of bioactive compounds, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties of medicinal plants Sauropus Androgynus L. and erythrina variegata L. Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research, 11(12), 313–317. https://doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2018.v11i12.28207
Liu, Y., Zhu, J., Liu, Z., Zhi, Y., Mei, C., & Wang, H. (2025). Flavonoids as Promising Natural Compounds for Combating Bacterial Infections. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26(6), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26062455
Ma, Y., Huang, S., Yang, G., Peng, S., Qi, R., Dong, B., Qiao, S., Zeng, X., & Yu, H. (2025). Biosynthesis of a novel antimicrobial brevicidine as potential food biopreservative from Brevibacillus laterosporus 811 and its anti-infection effect against Escherichia coli and Salmonella. Food Bioscience, 69(May). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbio.2025.106937
Ma, Y., Zhao, M., Zhang, H., Zhu, W., Anwar, A., Hou, J., & Jiang, Z. (2024). Strengthened antimicrobial and biocompatible of Jelleine-1 analogs: A step toward food preservation. Food Bioscience, 62(600). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbio.2024.105444
Mostafa, A. A., Al-Askar, A. A., Almaary, K. S., Dawoud, T. M., Sholkamy, E. N., & Bakri, M. M. (2018). Antimicrobial activity of some plant extracts against bacterial strains causing food poisoning diseases. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 25(2), 361–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2017.02.004
Mustarichie, R., Salsabila, T., & Iskandar, Y. (2019). Determination of the Major Component of Water Fraction of Katuk (Sauropus androgynous (L.) Merr.) Leaves by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. Journal of Pharmacy & Bioallied Sciences, 11(Suppl 4), S611–S618. https://doi.org/10.4103/jpbs.JPBS_205_19
Padhiari, B. M., Ray, A., Jena, S., Champati, B. B., Sahoo, A., Halder, T., Ghosh, B., Panda, P. C., & Nayak, S. (2021). Effect of different drying treatments on the physicochemical, functional, and antioxidant properties of Bacopa monnieri. Biotechnologia, 102(4), 399–409. https://doi.org/10.5114/BTA.2021.111105
Purba, R. A. P., & Paengkoum, P. (2022). Exploring the Phytochemical Profiles and Antioxidant, Antidiabetic, and Antihemolytic Properties of Sauropus androgynus Dried Leaf Extracts for Ruminant Health and Production. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 27(23). https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27238580
Putra, N., Garmana, A. N., Qomaladewi, N. P., Amrianto, Al Muqarrabun, L. M. R., Rosandy, A. R., Chahyadi, A., Insanu, M., & Elfahmi. (2023). Bioactivity-guided isolation of a bioactive compound with α-glucosidase inhibitory activity from the leaves extract of Sauropus androgynus. Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy, 31, 100907. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scp.2022.100907
Shen, Q., He, Z., Ding, Y., & Sun, L. (2023). Effect of Different Drying Methods on the Quality and Nonvolatile Flavor Components of Oudemansiella raphanipes. Foods, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12030676
Susanti, N. M. ., Budiman, I. N. ., & Warditiani, N. . (2014). Skrining Fitokimia Ektrak Etanol 90 % Daun Katuk ( Sauropus androgynus ( L .) Merr .). Repository Universitas Udayana, 3(1), 83–86.
World Health Organization. (2024). Food Safety. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/food-safety
Yang, Z., Li, T., Xing, J., He, S., Wu, W., Shan, A., & Wang, J. (2025). The novel peptide adjuvants potentiate antimicrobial properties of melittin against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and their efficacy as potential food preservatives. Food Control, 170(November 2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2024.111037
Zhang, B. dou, Cheng, J. xin, Zhang, C. feng, Bai, Y. dan, Liu, W. yuan, Li, W., Koike, K., Akihisa, T., Feng, F., & Zhang, J. (2020). Sauropus androgynus L. Merr.-A phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological review. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 257(March), 112778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2020.112778
Published
2026-06-24
How to Cite
ASTITI, Maharani Ajeng; FAUZIA, Syarah Ardha; PUTRI, Bintang Arnazora.
Antibacterial Potential of Sauropus androgynus (L.) Merr Methanolic Extract Against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Indonesian Journal of Food Technology, [S.l.], v. 5, n. 1, p. 94-109, june 2026.
ISSN 2962-6641.
Available at: <https://jos.unsoed.ac.id/index.php/ijft/article/view/19675>. Date accessed: 25 june 2026.
doi: https://doi.org/10.20884/1.ijft.2026.5.1.19675.
Section
Articles
